USTRANSCOM holding change of command ceremony Aug. 24

Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, the new commander of the U.S. Transportation Command. Courtesy photo

Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons, the new commander of the U.S. Transportation Command. Courtesy photo

Army Gen. Stephen R. Lyons will take command of the U.S. Transportation Command during a ceremony at 9:30 a.m. Aug. 24 on Scott Air Force Base.

Lyons, who will promote to the rank of general prior to the ceremony, will relieve Gen. Darren W. McDew, who will retire after 36 years of military service. Lyons is the first Army officer to lead the command.

The change of command ceremony will be live streamed beginning at 9:30 a.m. at www.facebook.com/USTRANSCOM.

A native of Rensselaer, New York, Lyons graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology and was commissioned in 1983. He previously served as the USTRANSCOM deputy commander, and comes to Scott AFB from the Pentagon, where he served as Director for Logistics (J4) on the Joint Staff.

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As the J4, he was responsible for integrating logistics planning and execution in support of joint operations to drive joint force readiness, maximize the Joint Force Commander's freedom of action and advising the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on logistics matters.

McDew has served as USTRANSCOM commander since August 2015. Over the course of his 36-year career, eight of them have been spent at Scott AFB, where he has served as the installation commander, 18th Air Force vice commander and commander, Air Mobility Command commander and, finally, USTRANSCOM commander. His retirement ceremony will be held later that afternoon.

Ceremonial artillery fire will take place from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the base, and loud booms may be heard in the communities surrounding the base. The “blank” rounds are ceremonial only and pose no risk to local communities.

USTRANSCOM is a global combatant command with functional responsibilities for air, land and sea transportation for the Department of Defense, ultimately delivering combat power on behalf of the President and the Secretary of Defense anywhere in the world at the time and place of our choosing.

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